And yet, one of the best sessions I've attended so far at Gnomedex, came out of left field. One of the smartest people in the room comes from a place you might not expect: Warner Brothers Records. His name is Ethan Kaplan.
Naturally, I've been able to work with WB in the past, being the first podcaster to play authorized music from a major label. And I have given them credit in the past for, while being naturally big, with lots of layers of management and legal people and old-timers, tend to make good efforts into exploring new media.
Ethan Kaplan took the stage--a seasoned, mixed-media industry type--and talked about fan interaction and technologies. Periodically self-deprecating (the bullseye target on his shirt was amusing), he delivered a quite compelling lecture/conversation. I think another reason why his session resonated so much, is I tend to take a similar 'moderate' role. It's my observation that he is working within the infrastructure that exists, while living a great deal in the space most of us in the new media space are in.
Some of the notes from others (they took better notes than me): bullet points link, project (drupal) link, Q&A link, cory doctorow comparison link)
I was able to spend more time talking with Ethan later, and he's one of the folks that-gets it- and knows that there are two sides to every story. If the other big entertainment companies get people like Ethan, then they become contenders. For now, it's Warners' game and everyone's got to play catchup.
Photo by Scott Beale, Laughingsquid.com
